What's so stiff with CCM Glove? Premier 2.9 autopsy

[ArdeFIN]

So I didn't find any topic I had yet written about the topic so it has to be just me thinking of doing it.

The glove itself is basic off the shelf Premier P2.9 which I bought from local fellow goalie for 50 euros. Had puck marks to prove it does catch and also had the pocket re-laced with skatelace and also there was a bit of floater added to it.

The closure is awful, not that it's off somehow but just so stiff that I had to use a lot of force to close it. And even worse was that could not open it to straigth T. Actually only halfway there.

Didn't get any decent complete picture of it before operations but there is nothing really interesting to see here either.

[ArdeFIN]

The target of this project was to find out why these CCM gloves are so stiff. Is the break area or T? Or something else not so evident.

Second target was to try and get rid of the bumb at the heel of the glove. That should be easy task or atleast the reason is obvious.

Here are the findings and these are not in any specific order of how I went through the process. Just some sort of easily readable documentation.

So the first one is the bumb. As said it is there and the reason is the wrist-thumb plastic where some designer had invented a bumb for some reason. Would be a minor problem if the bumb didn't extend into the break area illustrated with the stick in the picture.

To get rid of it and the bumb I first heated the plastic so much that it almost melted and then used some wooden molds I have to flatten the bumb out.

After that was done I then cut the excess plastic to meet the straight break line. 

Just a little more cutting and shaping and also the styrene behind the plastic was cut to the same line. The bumb is still there but in a flatter shape and more contoured to the finger side shape so that it allows a good tight closure.  

Result of the reshaping.

One "China" thing was found with plastics. There is a added layer of plastic at the edge on the finger side, probably to fight the curling. For some reason the added plastic sheet was some 5mm over the edge towards the T. That extra piece was cut off so that the T folds over an even edge.

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by ArdeFIN

[ArdeFIN]

That sorted (actually was later on) the stiffness was following. Takes a bit of work but rather easy to try things out so first thing was to get rid of pocket lacing. Then I opened up the perimeter at the boot of the T. I tried the closure and opening between every move to notify any changes but nothing happened.

The next step was to determine if the glove without T was stiff. To see this option I just opened the perimeter until the T dropped off. If it was stiff then it would be the padding or something break related.

I only have a video of this setup and as you can see the glove opens and closes easily, effortlessly and closes with its own weight when layed on table.

 

Weird I thought. I was quite sure that there was something wrong with the internals so that the glove was stiff but apparently no. The next step back was to lace the perimeter back in. And as many have said it helps the stiffness if you can open the lacing and let in some extra lace. So I decided to pull the lacing pretty tight, way over the normal tightness I do. Again a video to show the findings.

 

Even more interesting. Still no evidence of any sort of stiffness. 

[ArdeFIN]

Okay, then jump back to the T attached sequence. Or did I do something that removed the stiffness and didn't even notice? I only laced the T from the lip and the boot at all, and left the perimeter undone too. Results are revealing.

 

 

[ArdeFIN]

Whats in that damn thing then? Nothing I hadn't seen before, plastics, some sort of fiber fabric and many layers of Speedskin.

 

The plastics have been broken into two at the band point when the glove has been use for longer time but here everything is like new. Only a bit of fraying in the middle break.

The T without the plastic part is pretty soft so I'll just go straight in and cut the thumb side plastic in two. That area has to bend a lot when glove is opened wide and if it is bend like in the picture it'll prevent the closure. At the same time I cut the middle break a few millimeters wider. It didn't feel bad so to say but a bit tight and off from where the T seems to break.

Video footage shows how the glove is easier to open a bit more towards wide open and needs less force operate.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by ArdeFIN

[ArdeFIN]

Many would be happy already from what this project started from but I wanted to see it all. So also the fingerside of the T plastic had to be cut to see if it helped to open the glove wide.

And while not really huge difference it still had some effect on both directions. It seems that the multiple layers of Speedskin is also having a bad effect here. But that would require dismantling the whole T which I will not go through as it is intact.

 

 

[ser33]

you are the glove guru. I always read your threads with interest.

[BadAngle41]

Great topic and awesome work @ArdeFIN!! As much as I like my Axis set the glove is a touch stiff still... not nearly as snappy to close & open as previous iterations. Really cool to see someone dive into the glove and see what the results of stepped tinkering does.

[ArdeFIN]

Thanks all, I have some job done to this one that still isn't documented but when I get the time to arrange all pictures and whatever I'll add the rest of it. The softening process is pretty much written out already and more of a technical stuff coming.

[ArdeFIN]

I thought I had a picture of the felt used in this glove. Well I didn't but there isn't much to see. When in Pro glove we have some 6mm or more of felt, in this SR level glove there is only 4mm. And it really feels thin.

Here's a picture of what is in there when the perimeter is opened and all the inner laces are removed too. I think I moved some holes on the felt and finger plastic to fit the palm Speedskin of the glove. And also the thumbside hole lining was off as usual. They always seem to be, and no matter who is the manufacturer.

So to help the thin felt padding in it's job and to make this glove work with normal beer leaguing I thought I'd try and add pieces of Poron. Not XRD but "normal" Poron, which comes in many different types so I don't really know what type this is. But it seems to work as an insole in a shoe....

I used one insole to cover the critical area of the glove. Index and thumb fingers are the most usual areas to get hit and I do get hit on the break now and then so some added material there too.

Sheets are spread like in the picture just because the finger area is easier to sew this way, felt part has the plastic sheet in it too and can't easily be sewn. Break and thumg areas then again are easiest done this way as the break area works by the plastic part in between so the added part isn't over any bending area. The thumb parts are sort of left overs, but do their job atleast on some level as they are behind the thumb plastic.

That added and everything checked once again to be good it was time to put everything back together and finish this one.

The closure is still as soft or not as it was before adding the insole. Adding foam doesn't really make the glove more stiff or worse closurevise if it is done correctly.

That said, the glove isn't really a soft piece of love and will be sold to someone wanting a newish P2.9 glove. It's not bad at all and will get a lot softer with some use. But I have so many softer gloves in my storage that I don't need this one. But it was a nice project to do and now we know atleast one part of why these gloves are so freaking stiff.

Over and out.